Thursday, June 28, 2012

Wicked Nights is the story of
Zacharel, the new leader of the Army of Disgrace—heavenly warriors in danger of
falling from grace—and Annabelle, a human who has spent the last four years
locked inside an institution for the criminally insane.He doesn’t have time for a distraction, but
Annabelle fascinates him in a way nothing else ever has. Zacharel decides he wants her—but so does the
demon chasing her.

2. What would you say is your
interesting writing quirk?

I love to tinker with the scenes and the sentences and if I
change one word, just one, and someone reads the old version, I am
horrified.
3. What was one of the most surprising things you learned
in creating your books?

It can’t just be about me and what I want (though it probably
should be!).I have to stay true to the
characters.
4. Besides writing, what other interests do you have?

I love to read, I
love to listen to my iPod (I’ve been listening to a series of teaching by Keith
Moore, and they have rocked my socks off) and walk my dogs and hang out with my
family.(Not necessarily in that order
LOL)

5. Can you tell us about what’s
coming up next for you writing wise?

Up next is Alice in
Zombieland, the first in the White Rabbit Chronicles series, featuring a
teenage girl who loses her entire family in a car crash and wakes up to a world
of zombies and zombie slaying—and a bad boy who will either save her or ruin
her.(September 25th)

After that is Last Kiss Goodnight, the first in the
Otherworld Assassin novels, and a spin-off of my Alien Huntress books.A twisted menagerie
exists, and otherworlders are the main attraction.Any time this zoo is about to be shut down,
it vanishes and reappears somewhere else. When Solo’s latest mission is
compromised, he wakes up in a cage, the newest “animal” on display.Vika is his new handler—as well as the zoo
owner’s deaf daughter, and she’s been tasked with Solo’s care and feeding.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Sheriff
Slade Barlow works hard, doesn't need much to make him happy, and keeps the
peace in Parable. He's been looking at a ranch on the outskirts of town,
thinking he might have enough money saved up to put an offer in. Even though he
likes his job as a lawman, all he ever wanted to do was raise horses and work a
ranch. His mother, Callie, struggled while he was growing up; there were times
they barely had enough to eat or new clothes to wear, but still, they managed.
They lived in an old run down trailer on the outskirts of town, behind Callie's
Curly-Burly hair salon. It wasn't fancy, but it was home. Not like the large and
opulent Whisper Creek Ranch, where Slade's biological father ran one of the
largest cattle spreads in the county.

Slade has resented his father all
his life. John Carmody never once acknowledged him as his son. Heck, the entire
town of Parable knows the story; how Slade was born after an affair with Callie
Barlow. But John Carmody turned his back on Callie, married another woman, and
never looked back. Slade's resentment comes from John's lack of support. All
the while Callie struggled to keep food on the table, John Carmody never once
gave her any financial help. Well, the man is dead now, but today, Slade
learns that he's inherited half of everything John Carmody owned. This adds
up to several million dollars in cold hard cash, and half of Whisper Creek
Ranch.

Joslyn Kirk grew up the child of wealthy parents. But when
her step-father, Elliot Rossiter, swindled most of the people in Parable with
one of his get-rich-quick schemes, he was arrested, leaving Joslyn, her mother,
and their housekeeper Opal to slink out of town in the dark of night. Even
so, Joslyn went on to a lucrative career in software design. But recently,
people in Parable are getting mysterious checks in the mail. Rumor has it that
someone is paying the people out of Elliott Rossiter's stolen booty.

Fireworks and tension plague Joslyn and Slade from the first moment they
meet. They aren't strangers. They grew up in the same town, went to the same
schools, but Joslyn hung out with the popular crowd that included Slade's half
brother, Hutch Carmody. And there's no love lost between these brothers,
especially now when they receive the news of their father's last will and
testament. Hutch wants to buy out Slade's half of the ranch, but Slade isn't so
sure. Ranching is his heart's desire, and now he can afford to follow his
dream. Meanwhile, Joslyn's return to Parable is a homecoming for her. She
doesn't have much money, but her best friend, Kendra, gave her a place to stay
and a job.

Parable, Montana is BIG SKY COUNTRY! Slade wants to make his
future in Parable, just as soon as he can figure out what to do with his
unexpected inheritance. What he can't get out of his mind is how beautiful
Joslyn is. He is definitely attracted to her, but every time he sees her, she's
hanging around his brother Hutch. However, Joslyn doesn't feel even one little
tingle when it comes to Hutch Carmody. It's Sheriff Slade Barlow who causes her
pulse to race.

BIG SKY COUNTRY is the first in a new series by Linda
Lael Miller. The second book, BIG SKY MOUNTAIN, is next up, coming in August
2012, to be followed later by BIG SKY RIVER. Wonderful characters populate
these pages. BIG SKY COUNTRY is a novel you will not put down! Full of love,
laughter and pets, this book is a total winner! John Carmody's old dog, Jasper,
appears after being lost since John's death, and a very pregnant kitty named
Lucy-Maude shows up looking for love. Now, as soon as Joslyn and Slade can find
a way to overlook their demons, they just might be able to see a future that is
as clear as that BIG SKY COUNTRY!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

A blue-eyed innocent on the outside and a shark on the inside, dressmaker
Sophy Noirot could sell sand to Bedouins. Selling Maison Noirot's beautiful
designs to aristocratic ladies is a little harder, especially since a recent
family scandal has made an enemy of one of society's fashion leaders. Turning
scandal to the shop's advantage requires every iota of Sophy's manipulative
skills, leaving her little patience for a big, reckless rakes like the Earl of
Longmore. The gorgeous lummox can't keep more than one idea in his head at a
time, and his idea is taking off all of Sophy's clothes.But when Longmore's sister, Noirot's wealthiest, favorite customer, runs
away, Sophy can't let him bumble after her on his own. In hot pursuit with the
one man who tempts her beyond reason, she finds desire has never slipped on so
smoothly . . .

Easy to enter... Just post once and I'll put you in the hat and draw a winner later in the week.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

My
newest release is a paranormal romance (shape-shifter spy novel). I have an award winning vampire series, but I
think Black Moon Awakening is my most creative book yet. While set today in our normal world, there
are societies of wolves and Therians living and hiding in plain sight. It was
interesting to develop these societies to make the story believable. The Therian world was especially fun to
create.

2.
Can you tell us a little about your favorite scene in the
story?

I
think my favorite scene is when Jude Black, Therian operative, brings Raven
Hawkes (werewolf arch enemy) into his city that is supposed to be hidden from
the outside.

3.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I
think my quirk may be similar to other writers.
During most of my process, I see the book running like a movie in my head
and I just write down what my characters are doing. Sometimes these characters do things that
surprise even me! LOL I’ve had readers tell me that certain scenes
surprised them, and I have to laugh and tell them that that particular scene
surprised me, too. For example, in one
book, I was blown away when one of my characters died unexpectedly. I was shocked. I had to stop and think about it. What the heck? What happens next? My muse knew exactly where she was going, and
the rest fell into place. It’s nice to
be able to keep my readers guessing that way, especially since I’m guessing
too.

4.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your
books?

Something
that happens to me again and again is I come up with an idea that ends up having
a mythology behind it that I didn’t consciously realize when I started. I may have heard about it at some point and
forgotten? I don’t know. But the underpinning of the mythic-based
society in my Black Moon story worked out to be based in our mythologies. My muse is always at work, it
seems.

For
example: I thought I’d figured out this really cool theme for Therians, Jude
Black’s race. I thought about the
Egyptian God Horus having the body of a man and the head of a hawk, and thought,
holy cow! He’s a shape shifter. I was excited.

I
found this description in the Oxford Dictionary

adjective

·(especially
of a deity) combining the form of an animal with that of a man:gods depicted in a therianthropic or hybrid form with human body and animal
head (This part I
knew)

But
later I found descriptions that connected Therianthropy to werewolves, mermaids,
etc. Which was really cool, because this
information was unknown to me when I created the werewolf connection and one of
my Therian government characters, who becomes a mermaid in one of the
scenes.

5.
What authors or friends influenced you in helping you become a
writer?

Besides
my family who have always believed in my ability to do well as a writer, and my
best friend Nola, who is behind me every step of the way, I belong to a
wonderful writers’ group of friends. In
the beginning we were heavily critiquing each other and helping to develop
proper writing technique. Now that most
of us are published, we mostly focus on how to promote our books, what’s new in
publishing, industry information, where we should submit, things like that. We still read for each other on
occasion.

6.
Besides writing, what other interests do you have?

A
lot of authors have many creative interests besides writing. Writing is my number one obsession and
overshadows all others, but I do paint, draw, quilt, create new recipes,
etc. I love art.

7.
Can you tell us about what’s coming up next for you writing
wise?

I’m
nearly finished a Distopian story that has been so much fun to write. My main character is a female. She’s the kickass heroine of the story who
has a complicated connection with the dictator and his younger brother. The
world is pretty darned dark and dangerous, and besides fighting their own kind,
there are others, deviants, who make the world even more terrifying. That seems to be a theme with me.
J I like creating critters.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Lady Muriel
Worth, the youngest daughter of the Duke of Faraday, is in London under false
pretenses. Theoretically she is there for her first Season. In reality Muriel
wants to continue her long-distance Latin studies with her tutor who is in the
City. Pretending to go along with all of the requirements to being in the
Marriage Mart, she plots continually to complete her academics by dutifully
attending all that society demands of a girl, and then attending to her own
wants surreptitiously. The young men who dance around her are tolerated, then
pushed aside. That is until one appears on the scene, one newly minted earl who
is well-known to Muriel.

Sherwin, the new Earl of Amhurst just wants to
read. He could care less about the ton. His mother, however, has other
ideas. Sherwin needs an heir, and therefore a wife must be chosen. Silently he
endures the endless dancing and rides in the park, dressed by his mother and
valet. Then he realizes that childhood friend Muriel Worth is out and about, and
he wonders if she feels the same as he does about all of this folderol? Their
initial reunion doesn't go well, though. And then rumors begin to fly about his
relationship with Muriel.

A GRAND DECEPTION is a humorous look into life
in Regency London where the fold of a cravat can make or break an evening, or
the amount of color on a girl's white dress can tell what kind of a lady she is.
It's also a study of just how little say a woman has in her life. Muriel is a
scholar, but has to hide that fact. Her only role in life is to be a wife and
mother. But is that all there is? Sherwin's “coming out” happens when Muriel's
brother starts guiding him behind Sherwin's mother's back.

With a
plethora of secondary characters who add both humor and heart to this tale, two
endearing lead players, and Regency England to round out the story, A GRAND
DECEPTION is a delightfully entertaining and quick read.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

As he sat in the
run-down bar, brooding over a glass of whiskey, Rex McCready decided that his
life was a series of battles in a war that would never end, and he wasn’t on the
winning side very often.
“Hey, thought I’d find you here.”
His best
friend, former cell mate and current business partner in Bodyguards R Us, Virgil
Skinner, slid onto the bar stool next to him.
“What happened this time?”
Virgil wanted to know.
“The same thing that happens every time,” he grumbled.
He and Laurel Hodges, Virgil’s sister, just couldn’t get along. They loved each
other, but they were both too damaged to make the relationship work, and the
stress of having recently entered WITSEC—the witness protection program—together
with Virgil and his wife, Peyton, only made matters worse.

“When I
first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself
the craft and finish my first book,” Brenda Novak says. “I learned how to write
by reading what others have written. The best advice for any would-be author:
read, read, read…”Brenda sold her first book, and the rest is history. A New
York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of forty novels, Brenda Novak has
been nominated for a prestigious RITA award three times and won The National
Reader’s Choice Award, the Bookbuyer’s Best, the Bookseller’s Best, the Writer
Touch Reader Award, the Golden Quill, the Hold Medallion and the Award of
Excellence, among others.Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and
are the proud parents of five children—three girls and two boys. She juggles her
writing career with her children’s softball and soccer games, field trips,
carpool runs and homework sessions. When she’s not spending time with her family
or writing, Brenda is usually working on her annual fundraiser for diabetes
research—an online auction held on her website (www.brendanovak.com) every May.
To date, she has raised nearly $1.4 million for this cause.

Monday, June 18, 2012

After a lifetime of doing the opposite
of what her father wants, Mimi Burdette is finally going along with his wishes
by dating Dimitri.While he's handsome
and nice, Mimi doesn't really feel a spark, but decides to seduce him anyway to
see if there's something more beneath the surface.As she's trying to figure out which underwear
would be most seductive, a man comes crashing through her closet door.A hot, sexy, shirtless man who causes a fire
to start burning in Mimi's blood.

Xander McKinley hadn't planned to join
the engagement party happening in the yard of his new apartment house, but when
he inadvertently locks himself out, he has to find his landlady to let him in.The only key Anna has will let him in through
the secret door in the closet, yet before he can enter his bedroom, he sees his
new neighbor, nearly naked.Anna has
apparently decided to play matchmaker between Xander and Mimi, and considering
the beauty before him, Xander's not about to complain.Now he only has to convince Mimi that though
he may not be her father's perfect pick, he is perfect for her.

A scorching affair becomes much more in
BLAZING MIDSUMMER NIGHTS.Mimi is hoping
to take over her father's place as CEO of the family business someday, but
feels she needs to prove herself.She
sees dating Dimitri as the right thing to do, even if it feels wrong.Xander is starting over and not really
looking for romance, but Mimi is hard to resist.In spite of the sizzling passion between
them, Xander isn't willing to start anything with her still dating Dimitri, and
Mimi isn't quite ready to admit that Dimitri isn't for her.

Affectionately known as the Duchess of
Love for her matchmaking skills, the Duchess of Greycliffe wants nothing so
much as to see her own three sons enjoy the marital bliss she and her beloved
duke enjoy. Ash, the eldest, hasn't lived with his wife since their wedding
night; no one knows why, and he's not talking. Ned, the next, lost his wife and
new-born four years ago, and it's time he moved on. Jack, the youngest, lives a
bachelor life in Town.

Her Grace has one more failure in her
dish, Miss Eleanor Bowman, the vicar's twenty-six year old daughter. Ellie ran
free at the castle as a child and is like a daughter to the duchess. There's a
reason for Ellie's indifference to the gentlemen introduced to her party after
party. She fell in love with Ned years ago, only to see him wed her best
friend. Maybe it's time she gave up trying to get him to see her as more than a
sister and give the gentlemen the duchess has invited to the house party a
chance.

Among the many single gentlemen and
ladies at the castle, surely romance will blossom, but will they all end up
with the right partners? Do all have pure motives? Will Ned see the light, or
will he be distracted by one who resembles the love of his youth? And how do
red silk drawers and a thieving cat help matters along?

Have fun at the party Ms. MacKenzie
serves up in BEDDING LORD NED. She has the knack of smoothly combining humor
and passion in her historical romances. You'll love the duchess and enjoy
Ellie's coping with her dilemma. You'll probably lose patience with Ned from
time to time as I did, but persevere, all ends in a satisfying manner. Well,
maybe not all. There are still two brothers needing help…

BEDDING LORD NED slows down a bit in the
middle before picking up speed again. On the whole, however, it's certainly
amusing and titillating and it neatly presages a super series to come with most
interesting characters.

As a bonus, the charming novella
entitled The Duchess of Love is added at the back of the book. You might wonder
after reading the first few pages if it isn't part of the author's fun and sexy
Naked Nobility series, but that is
not the case. The novella is a prequel to BEDDING LORD NED and portrays the
meeting and falling in love of Lord Ned's parents.